Lemonade for Life

Our hope and resilience training program adapts and thrives despite pandemic challenges

What do you do when your program model centers around in-person meetings, then a pandemic makes such meetings impossible? For the Lemonade for Life team, it meant practicing a growth mindset – the very skill they teach participants – and trying something new. They piloted their first ever virtual LFL experience. To their joy, virtual LFL has not only been a big hit, it has also opened the door for more people to attend LFL trainings than ever before.

Taking a chance

One of the most powerful aspects of the LFL experience is the sense of intimacy that develops between participants during the shared experience, which combines leading-edge research and group discussion to create a rich learning environment. “The in-person connection and group experience we think is integral to Lemonade for Life, we didn’t think we could replicate that on-line,” shares Katie Hart, research project coordinator.

So Rebecca Gillam, associate director, and Katie decided to pilot a virtual program over the summer and see what happened. The Maryland Health Department, whose in-person training had to be cancelled due to COVID, was game to try. The test went well so the LFL team decided to keep at it, hosting virtual trainings through the fall and into the new year, tweaking the program as they learned what worked and what didn’t.

To her delight, Katie says, the magical connections between participants are still happening. “Almost every group has had an epiphany moment: ‘We just shared a powerful moment in this virtual space I didn’t think could happen in a Zoom experience, but I feel a powerful connection that we are all sharing.’”

Testing something new

Now, the team is ready to stretch out again and try something else that didn’t seem feasible pre-pandemic.

Until how, LFL has only be available to groups that were willing to host a training. But through the years, lots of people have asked to attend a training by themselves, unaffiliated with a group. Through the past few months, the team has gotten a chance to fine-tune the online experience and is now ready to try opening the doors to individuals.

In February, they are piloting the first ever open-enrollment training. The team partnered with the Design Team to create a digital marketing campaign, which includes email invitations and social media posts, to spread the word. They have space for 23 participants and are excited to see if, or how quickly, the session fills.

“It can be easy to get stuck in auto-pilot with things that we do often,” Katie says. “But virtual LFL has given us an opportunity to really practice what we preach when it comes to having a growth mindset.”

Please help spread the word

If you have partners who would benefit from the Lemonade for Life experience, please let them know about this opportunity. Here's more info to share. 

Change Makers

At sensemaking workshop, Our Tomorrows shares families' stories about impact of grants

As they gathered for a virtual sensemaking workshop on Dec. 8, grantees of the Technology for Families and Remote Learning Support grants discussed trends revealed from the 277 stories like these that were shared by families and providers about the impact the technology grants had in the lives of Kansas families and those who serve them.

The Our Tomorrow’s team supported grantees in collecting these personal stories, then analyzed them to spot trends and key information that would be useful to understanding the lived experiences of families, as told in their own words.

The stories revealed that families were using the technology to meet critical family needs in general, not just in conjunction with home visits, which was the intent of the grant. The new technology allowed them to access health care, connect with medical providers, and apply for jobs. 

Check out the key findings from the session and more in the full story in the CPPR blog. 

KU Wellness Lunch-N-Learn

Hobbies are good for your health

CPPR’ers are a creative lot when it comes to pursuing hobbies. In our spare time, we knit, play instruments, create art, run, game, renovate homes, cook, garden, dance, cycle, hike, camp, and so much more. Pursuing passions like these is great for your mental and physical health, according to a recent KU Wellness lunch-and-learn webinar. These free lunch-and learn webinars are held monthly and feature a variety of topics. (Watch the full Hobbies for Mental and Physical Health webinar HERE.)

Benefits of a hobby

Hobbies help us reduce stress, raise self-confidence, improve memory, boost problem solving skills, and make us feel more in control of our lives. They also help us enjoy “flow” experiences, that feeling you get when you are so immersed in something that you forget about everything else.

How to develop a hobby

Looking for a new hobby? Here are some suggestions shared in the webinar to get you started:

• Write a list of activities and subjects you enjoy.
• Decide how you can fit it into your schedule. Your hobbies are part of your self-care, so make them a priority.
• Find someone that enjoys the same hobby and connect with them to talk shop.
• Check for local resources. What’s available in your area that will help you pursue your hobby?

CPPR Social

Our post of the week

Jackie's Jots

Last week was a rush watching the inauguration. I was unprepared for the physical reaction that seeing a woman on the platform would have on me. Madam VP and second gentleman have a nice ring. The tradition and decorum, coupled with the naming of racism and white supremacy, signaled a return to some semblance of normal with a recognition that our broken system must change.

It was a powerful moment. I felt like anything was possible. I rode that wave for the entire week and ended Friday on a high that I haven’t felt for a while.

And now it’s a week later.

CPPR is uniquely positioned to hold space and create the demand for different. We also have the capacity to help others imagine this different world and the road to get there. Our role is changing from being navigators to being map creators. We’ve been in a state of surviving in 2020. Now it’s time to figure out what thriving looks like for us.

Here’s some of what you can expect from me and CPPR in 2021:

• We are moving from kicking the system and admiring problems to imagining different and tilting in a direction. We will not act impulsively and without due thought and inclusion of input.
• We will interrogate our own actions and habit from being part of a system that values the market rather than valuing humanity.
• We will collectively tolerate the discomfort of conflict and metabolize it as nutrients to make the changes we desire.
• We will do the work to enact our diversity, equity, and inclusion statement. We will strive to be the place where staff, students, and partners come to feel inspired and equipped to do good.
• We will explore the future of work, learn the lessons from the pandemic, and create a work model that promotes connection and belonging around our collective impact.
•  We will move beyond the jargon and identify levers of change that have long-term payoffs for humanity.

That is what we will do.

Here is what I will do.

• I will use my power, position, and privilege to create space and connection.
• I will use time and energy efficiently to focus and reduce ambiguity.
• I will call on others to lead, and will support and take risks on doing things differently.
• I will continue to devour books, literature, conversations, etc to inform my thinking. I will try on new concepts and continue to refine my thinking and approaches.
• I will accept help and be honest about my own limitations.

It’s time to step into the space and create the collective agenda for a just world. We have

the power of the pen to put forth ideas and the resources and skills to test them out. I look forward to occupying this space with you.

In solidarity to create tomorrow today,

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